What is the most important tool in your tool belt? Every guy has one ability or “tool” they use at work every day to be successful. What is yours? Is it your stellar personality, a computer, a hammer or just your ability to get along with others?

Albert Einstein called it “sitzen denken” or “ sit thinking”. It is said that he would stop what he was doing no matter how important and take time to sit and think. This consistent discipline was not at all meditation, which can be defined as the relaxation of the mind with the hope to gain clarity. But "Sitzen Denken" is something very different.

Without a doubt, the story of Job is one of the most mesmerizing, puzzling and unpopular narratives in the Bible. Job was a godly, moral and blameless man whose life personifies a bad movie script. In Scene One, everything he owns is stripped from him. Then, some freak desert tornado incises the house where his kids are having a shindig, collapsing the roof and smothering everyone inside except one courier. As if that isn’t enough, Scene Two leaves Job scraping his carcass with glass just to relieve pain left by head to toe lesions. Torture, agony and despair are inferior words that pale in comparison to the reality of the situation.

Jezreel – First Child of the Whore
Hos 1:4-5 And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Hosea Commanded to Marry a Whore
Hos 1:2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.”

“[From] the moment students set foot on the contemporary campus, their Christian convictions and discipline are assaulted. ‘Faith is just a crutch,’ they hear from friends and teachers. ‘The Bible is just mythology.’ ‘Christianity is judgmental and intolerant.’ ‘Morality is different everywhere.’ ‘Everyone must find his own truth.’ ‘I can be good without God.’ ‘Jesus was just a man who died.’ No wonder so many lose their faith!” (J. Budziszewski, How to Stay Christian in College).[1]

Drip, drip, drip. I witnessed the constant attack on Christianity, Christian beliefs and morals, while I was in college. At times I felt totally alone. Many times I wanted to fight. Many times I just stayed quiet, silent, while within my blood boiled. Oftentimes I argued with myself about responses or lack-thereof. I was sometimes so spiritually oppressed (Ephesians 6:12) that I needed some time of refreshing. I needed my tank refilled, needed a good influence, needed to be reminded how I could answer the enemies of Christ and the cross (Philippians 3:18). And then, by the grace of God, I ran across J. Budziszewski’s How to Stay Christian in College at an online Christian bookstore.

Hosea was a prophet who lived and prophesied in the last decades before the fall of Samaria. While the text does not say explicitly, it seems logical that Hosea lived in the Northern Kingdom (Israel) based on his detailed knowledge of the geography. The message appears directed toward Israel, but the lessons Hosea teaches were meant for Judah and ultimately for every generation.

The Tenth Commandment states that we are not to covet (Exodus 20:17). To covet is to have a strong desire or greed for anything that is not yours and currently unattainable because it belongs to someone else or lies outside your ability to get. We are allowed to desire to have something LIKE what others have but what is prohibited is the desire to have what belongs to another and/or obtaining it in an ungodly way (i.e., by violating any of the other nine commandments).

There are dozens of prophets mentioned in the Old Testament. Some are credited with writing whole books. Moses was the first and greatest of the Old Testament prophets. He is credited with writing (or at least compiling) the first five books of the bible and probably the book of Job. Other great prophets like Elijah, Elisha, and Nathan did not contribute directly to the text of scripture, but were instead subjects of scripture. The period known as the “period of the prophets” was between the times of Solomon and Alexander even though God has used prophets before and since. This period is called the period of the prophets because this is when the books of the Major and Minor Prophets were written.

“A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6:39, NASB).

Welcome to World Religions class, already in progress:

“No sex before marriage? In top-down religion, the rule is already decided for you,” said Professor Yu,[1] “but in eastern tradition and other religions you work to figure it all out for yourself. No sex before marriage? Try it…” he said the last line with a laugh as if he was only joking. “God says, ‘No sex before marriage’? How do you know what’s best until you try it for yourself?”

“What wonderful advice,” I thought to myself. (Yes, even in my own head I can be sarcastic.) I thought about saying, “Would you say that regarding suicide?” but I bit my tongue. I could have been a wise-acre, done my best imitation of him, and said, “God says, ‘Don’t murder. Do not rape.’ How do you know what’s best unless you try it for yourself?”[2]

The book of Revelations is John’s written record of a series of prophetic visions. The first three chapters read as a series of messages to specific churches, but also seem to be prophetic descriptions of various ages of the church.

We know them as the Ten Commandments or Law of Moses, those ancient decrees of a covenant that even some Christians consider obsolete (Deuteronomy 4:13. Exodus 20:3-17)(2). However, Jesus did not say that He came to do away with the Ten Commandments or Law but rather to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17-19. Luke 16:16,17). That is, Jesus did give us new commandments; however, He never abolished the old ones (John 13:34,35. Romans 3:30,31). Rather He raised them from a matter of external physical compliance to a matter of internal spiritual compliance that included the thoughts and intents of our spiritual hearts (Matthew 5:27,28). Furthermore, He did what the Law failed to do for man - He provided a way back into a personal relationship with God the Father (Galatians 3:11. John 14:6. 1 John 2:23).

The book of Hebrews is one of my favorites in the New Testament. There is considerable debate as to the identity of the author, but as far as I’m concerned there’s no doubt it is the inspired word of God. The book was written primarily to the Jewish believers. It holds many nuanced references aimed to reach out to Jews. Even so, its truths transcend the Hebrew people and benefit all Christ believers, be they Jew or Gentile. In the first chapter the position and role of Jesus Christ is identified, as are angels and man relative to Jesus.

The book of John is probably my favorite book of the bible and definitely my favorite Gospel account. The other Gospels provide excellent detailed accounts of the life of the man, Jesus Christ. John puts far more emphasis on the deity of Jesus. John was known as the one loved by Jesus. Of all the apostles, he alone stood with Jesus’ mother at the cross and held her while he died. John was the only apostle to live into old age and he was the one who received and recorded the visions we in the book of Revelation.

I am referring to God's Covenant Implementing Angels (CIA). Realize, long before man was created on Earth, God created millions of beings called angels to serve Him (Job 38:4-7 stars = angels in Revelation 1:20. Revelation 5:11). Unfortunately, one of the ruling angels or archangels called Lucifer led a rebellion (1) with one third of the other angels following him (Revelation 12:4). Nevertheless, they were quickly defeated, their authority (but not power) removed and they were cast out of Heaven (Luke 10:18). Today we know the Archangel Lucifer by the name of Satan (Satan means the adversary or accuser of the brethren - Revelation 12:10).

Throughout the chapter Jesus speaks in parables. In the first parable (vv 1-6) Jesus questions the religious leaders about doing good deeds on the Sabbath. The parable of the wedding feast (vv 7-11) is the first of two that use different feast scenarios to illustrate heaven. In this one Jesus shows the importance of humility. The parable of the great banquet (vv 12-24) is really two parables in one. First Jesus says plainly why we should do good deeds that cannot be repaid by friends and family. In the second part he indicates that entry to heaven requires a person choose to be there, but also that the person can’t sneak or buy their way in.

On this Christmas Day, the day we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have assembled many of the prophesies from the Old Testament and their corresponding fulfillment in the New Testament (hundreds if not thousands of years latter) that clearly show that He is the Savior of the World! (Word version of this table attached)

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About Impact

Impact is a group of Christian men who want to see men take an active role in the world. This blog was designed to offer men all around the world a different point of view by gathering men from different walks of life together to provide fresh insight to todays problems and questions.